Daniel 8:15–27

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I ^vsought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^wthe appearance of a man. ^16xAnd I heard a man’s voice ^xbetween the banks of the ^yUlai, and it called, ^z“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^aI was frightened ^band fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^cO son of man, that the vision is for ^dthe time of the end.”

¹⁸And when he had spoken to me, ^eI fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^fhe touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of ^gthe indignation, for it refers to ^hthe appointed time of the end. ²⁰As for ⁱthe ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^jMedia and Persia. ²¹And ^kthe goat⁴ is the king of Greece. And ^kthe great horn between his eyes is ^lthe first king. ^22mAs for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his⁵ nation, ⁿbut not with his power. ²³And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. ²⁴His power shall be great—^obut not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^pand shall succeed in what he does, ^qand destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. ^25rBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^she shall become great. ^tWithout warning he shall destroy many. And he ^sshall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^uby no human hand. ²⁶The vision of ^vthe evenings and the mornings that has been told ^wis true, but ^xseal up the vision, ^yfor it refers to many days from now.”

²⁷And ^zI, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision ^aand did not understand it.